43

should convey the English Mails monthly
to New Zealand, and at the same time
maintain a fortnightly communication
between this Colony and Australia. This
line of route—with respect to which, I
may here remark, when alluded to in the
House of Representatives, during the
discussion on the Steam Service, no
opinion was expressed—would, if prac
ticable, be the most efficient, having re-
ference to the service to be performed;
and would consequently have been pre-
ferred by the Government if steamers
could be obtained possessing the speed
and other qualities requisite to ensure
the performance of such a service with
any degree of regularity; but as the time
specified for that service would not allow
for accidental delay at any port from bad
weather, or for coaling in New Zealand,
it is considered impossible that steam
vessels could be procured in this part of
the world to perform it. Tenders for
this line can, however, be invited in order
to test its practicability.

10 With reference to the Memorials,
I may observe that it appears to be
believed that if the Steamers which
bring the English Mails to New Zealand
returned by the end of the same
month to Australia, the replies to English letters
brought by them, would be
forwarded to Great Britain within the
month; but, as far as the Government is
aware, from the Public Papers, having no
official information on the subject, this
would not be the case, as a Mail Steamer
is to return with the English Mails from
Sydney fifteen days after the arrival of
each outward Mail from England. In
other words, it is assumed that an Eng-
lish Mail arrives at Sydney on the 1st of
each month, and that the New Zealand
portion of it is immediately despatched to
this Colony; but as the homeward Mail is
despatched from Sydney on the 15th of
the same month, and it is impossible that
a Mail from New Zealand in reply to
that received could reach Sydney within
fifteen days, the New Zealand return
Mail could not, under any circumstances,
be despatched from Sydney until the 15th
of the next month.

11. The Government was influenced
    by this consideration, and its proposal
    provided that the New Zealand Branch
    Steamers, while performing the Inter-
    Provincial Service also, should return to
    Sydney within six weeks; thereby ensuring that the return Mails were sent home
    in the shortest time possible, while the
    Steamers employed would have about

15 days at Sydney to coal and refit, and
would thus be ready to leave that Port
within a few hours of the arrival of each
outward English Mail.

12. In further explanation of the steps
    taken by this Government, I have to ob-
    serve that from not being aware of the
    precise terms of the Postal Contract, of
    which no copy at the date of the latest ad-
    vices had been received in Australia, it
    has—in the absence of information as to
    the precise power of regulating its own
    Branch Service which may by the terms
    of the Contract be given to each Colony,
    been unable to do more than indicate its
    opinion as to the manner in which the
    New Zealand Branch Service might be
    conducted in relation to that with the
    Provinces; leaving it with Mr. Sewell,
    who would first learn the nature of the
    Contract, and who was well acquainted with
    the requirements of the Colony in this
    respect, to effect the necessary arrange-
    ments; as a part of which it will be seen
    that it is proposed that the first contract
    shall be for 12 months only, during the
    currency of which period sufficient evi-
    dence may be obtained from all parts of
    the Colony with respect to the course
    which it may subsequently be desirable
    to adopt. And it must be remembered
    that the Colony is already bound to pay
    its share of the expenses of the Imperial
    Postal Contract, and that it cannot, in
    accordance with the terms of that con-
    tract, get rid of the difficulty of indicating
    what Port the Branch Steamer is to
    visit.

13. It remains to add, in reply to Mr.
    Kelham’s letter, that no instructions of
    the nature stated by the master of the
    Ariel, have been issued by the Govern-
    ment of New Zealand, and if any such
    do exist, they probably emanated either
    from the London Post Office or from the
    Government of Victoria. Instructions
    as requested by Mr. Kelham will now be
    forwarded to Melbourne.

I have, &c.,
E. W. STAFFORD.

His Honor
The Superintendent,
Wellington.

ENCLOSURES.

Colonial Secretary’s Office,
Auckland, Nov. 20, 1856.

SIR,
With reference to the correspondence
which has taken place between this Government and the Government of Vic-